1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vanity case of the type in which a receptacle member, a tray and a cover member are hinged together at respective rear ends thereof and the tray and cover member are maintained in closed position with respect to the receptacle member by engagement of latch means formed on the front ends of the cover and receptacle members.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various attempts and efforts have hitherto been made in order to facilitate an opening operation of the cover member, and a push piece has been proposed and found effective. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,276,893 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,399,836 disclose such a push piece arranged in a recess formed on the marginal portion of the receptacle member in a slidable manner (U.S. Pat. No. 4,276,893) or in a rotatable manner (U.S. Pat. No. 4,399,826) so that an inwardly directed pressure applied to the push piece urges the cover member upwardly to thereby release the engagement of latch means. In order to open the cover member, the push piece is pressed by, for example, the thumb of one hand, which releases the engagement of the latch means. Then the front end of cover member is lifted by using the other hand or by shifting the thumb to the front edge of the cover. It is thus necessary to use both hands or to do a two-step operation in opening the cover.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,331,168 discloses an arrangement of the push piece in the cover member, whereby the cover member can be opened by the same finger which has pressed the push piece. In this vanity case, however, a portion of the push piece to be pressed is located just above the upper edge of the receptacle member so that the lower end of the finger which has pressed the push piece tends to come into contact with the upper edge of receptacle, resulting in a difficulty in lifting up the cover by the same finger without shifting such finger. In order to avoid such contact a delicate operation or manipulation is required in positioning the finger onto the push piece.
Also, it is known in the art to provide a tray between the receptacle and cover members for enabling a vanity case to accommodate a puff in addition to the cosmetic material. An example of such "three part" type vanity case is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model KOKAI No. 61-143502 in which the tray as well as the cover is hinged with the receptacle at the rear ends thereof. A push piece is arranged in the tray and adapted to release dual engagements between latch members of the cover member and the tray and between latch members of the tray and the receptacle member. The push piece is mounted in the tray and projects forwardly beyond the front edge of the vanity case in order to permit a user to press the push piece without a delicate operation. Such a projecting push piece, however, not only spoils the esthetic external appearance of the vanity case but also involves a disadvantage that the cover may be opened accidentally.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a vanity case having a push piece which can be pressed by a user's finger without delicate positioning of the finger.
Another object of the invention is to provide a vanity case in which a cover member can be opened to a desired angle by the same finger employed for pressing the push piece to achieve unlatching without shifting such finger.